Dear All,
We as Turkish Association of University Women (founded in 1949) and Istanbul Women Associations Union want to participate the 28 September campaign and to organise a press conference in our country, Because: Abortion Ban is going to be legal in Turkey !!! and we hope the support of international institutions and international campains will be helpful to stop abortion ban.
In Turkey abortion until 10 weeks in pregnancy, is legal since 1 November 1983.Turkey has made progress in improving reproductive health since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and has reflected the ICPD targets and strategies in the country's Development Plan. Furthermore, a National Strategic Plan for Women's Health and Family Planning was developed. But political environments are changed from time to time.
Sometimes it is very supportive to womens human rights but sometime they are ignorant. Unfortunately after the governing conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, family integrity was valued over the woman’s individual rights. During the last election campaign Prime Minister called on women to have at least three children and argued that birth control advocates sought to weaken Turkey. And in 2011 the Ministry for Women and Family Affairs was replaced to the Ministry for Family Affairs and Social Policies. Locking up women in the structure of a Ministry of Family Affairs and Social Politics means to ignore all problems beyond family life. As many women NGO's, TUKD has protested that reconstruction. http://bianet.org/bianet/english/130059-what-we-need-is-a-women-ministry Allthough access to safe abortion care can be a life or death issue for women and l egal in Turkey, the Prime Minister says he is against Caesarean births and considers abortion a crime.
While women have made significant strides in Turkey toward acceptance and public respectability, contradictions still exist. To implement the equal legal rights into every day life, we have a long way to go...with kindest regards
Nazan Moroglu, LL.M.
President TAUW (Turkish Association of University Women)
Coordinator IWAU (Istanbul Women Associations Union)
www.tukd.org.tr
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